Bluetooth Beacon-Based Underground Navigation System to Support Mine Haulage Operations
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minerals Article BBUNS: Bluetooth Beacon-Based Underground Navigation System to Support Mine Haulage Operations Jieun Baek 1, Yosoon Choi 1,* ID , Chaeyoung Lee 1, Jangwon Suh 2 ID and Sangho Lee 3 1 Department of Energy Resources Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Korea; [email protected] (J.B.); [email protected] (C.L.) 2 Energy Resources Institute, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Korea; [email protected] 3 Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon 34132, Korea; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +82-51-629-6562 Received: 28 September 2017; Accepted: 18 November 2017; Published: 21 November 2017 Abstract: A Bluetooth beacon-based underground navigation system (BBUNS) was developed to identify the optimal haul road in an underground mine, track the locations of dump trucks, and display this information on mobile devices. A three-dimensional (3-D) geographic information system (GIS) database of the haul roads in an underground mine was constructed, and the travel time for each section was calculated. A GIS database was also constructed for 50 Bluetooth beacons that were installed along the haul roads. An Android-based BBUNS application was developed to visualize the current location of each dump truck and the optimal haul road to the destination on mobile devices, using the Bluetooth beacon system that was installed in the underground mine. Whenever the BBUNS recognized all of the Bluetooth beacons installed in the underground mine, it could provide the dump truck drivers with information on the current location and the two-dimensional (2-D) and 3-D haul road properties. The operating time of each dump truck and the time spent on each unit task could be analyzed using recorded data on the times when Bluetooth beacon signals were recognized by the BBUNS. The underground mine navigation system that was developed in this study can contribute to the improvement of haul operation efficiency and productivity. Keywords: underground mine; navigation system; Bluetooth beacon system; truck haul operations 1. Introduction All over the world, as high-quality ore deposits near ground surfaces have been extensively mined and are now almost exhausted, the mining industry is increasingly using large machines to mine low-quality ore deposits at greater depths at mining sites. At highly mechanized mining sites, the efficient operation and management of equipment are crucial not only for productivity and safety during mining work, but also for the profitability of mining corporations. Various types of fleet management systems (FMSs) have been developed at mining sites for the efficient operation and management of mining equipment [1–4]. The key technologies that are provided by FMSs in relation to loading and haul operations at mining sites include dispatching technology [1,5–18] that identifies optimal combinations of equipment and adjusts dispatch intervals, routing technology [19–22] that identifies optimal equipment travel routes, and tracking technology [23] that monitors the current location and operational status of each piece of equipment. FMSs include navigation systems that identify the optimal haul road to the destination, track the location of each piece of transport equipment at a mining site, and display information, such as the optimal haul road, the current location of the equipment, and the cycle time, on a device that is mounted in each vehicle. The navigation systems have been introduced recently at mining sites Minerals 2017, 7, 228; doi:10.3390/min7110228 www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals Minerals 2017, 7, 228 2 of 16 as new solutions for maximizing the efficiency or haul operations. For instance, Hexagon Mining’s Jtruck (2017, Brisbane, QLD, Australia) [24], which is a typical navigation system for use in open-pit mines, updates haul vehicle dispatch information and haul road information in real time through a wireless communication infrastructure and tracks the current location of each dump truck using global positioning system (GPS) signals. In addition, terminals are installed in each vehicle to provide the driver with real-time information on the current location of the vehicle in the mine and the distance along the haul road to the destination. In underground mines, however, it is difficult to share haul operation information with people outside of the mine and to track the location of the equipment in real time, because the haul operations are conducted with disconnected GPS signals and wired/wireless communication [25]. The development of a navigation system for underground mines requires three types of techniques. The first technique can determine the optimal haul road from a certain departure location to a workplace destination for haul operations. Geographic Information System (GIS)-based network analysis is a typical technique that is used to analyze the travel routes that connect a departure point and destination point and then identify the optimal travel route—i.e., the one with the lowest travel cost—in an environment in which vector networks such as roads, railways, and waterways are constructed [22,26–28]. The travel cost factors that are considered when analyzing the optimal travel route include distance, time, speed, terrain slope, resistance, and other factors that are related to various phenomena that may occur in a network environment [29–33]. Several studies have been conducted using the GIS-based network analysis technique to identify the optimal travel route and minimize the haul operation time of load–haul–dump (LHD) equipment in underground mine environments [6,19,20,34]. The second type of technique that is required for a navigation system for underground mines is one that can recognize the exact location of each dump truck using wireless sensor technologies. Recent installations of wireless sensor networks [35,36], Wi-Fi [37,38], Zigbee [25,39], and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags [40–42] in underground mines have made it possible to track transport equipment and communicate between the inside and the outside of underground mines. In addition, various mining corporations have commercialized products for use in accurately locating and tracking transport and loading equipment in underground mines. Among these products are Minetec’s Trax+Tags TM II (2017, Perth, WA, Australia) [43], which uses a wireless ad hoc system; Modular Mining Systems’ Dispatch (2017, Tucson, AZ, USA) [44]; and Mine Site Technologies’ Asset tracking system (2017, Sydney, NSW, Australia) [45], which uses RFID tag technology. Technologies that can be used to recognize the location of individual dump trucks and measure travel times using a Bluetooth beacon system have attracted attention recently [46,47]. Bluetooth beacon systems are based on Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) technology, which is part of Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology, and is mainly used for indoor positioning using smart devices [48]. BLE technology is designed to operate for many years with lower power consumption than the existing Bluetooth technologies, and the reduced packet size enables efficient data transmission [49]. A comparison between BLE and other communication technologies, such as reverse RFID for mining applications can be found in Baek et al. [50]. The third requirement is a technique that displays the current location of each dump truck in the underground mine, along with the travel route to the destination. Terminal-type products that display the current location of each dump truck in an underground mine have recently been commercialized. For example, Maptek’s MineSuite Fleet management system (2017, Denver, CO, USA) [51] identifies the location of each dump truck in an underground fleet using an RFID system that is installed in the underground mine and displays each location on terminals. MISOM Technologies’ FARA application (2017, Tucson, AZ, USA) [46] recognizes the location of each dump truck using a Bluetooth beacon system in an underground mine and displays the current location and distance to the destination on mobile devices. Mobile applications can be implemented on various smart devices, such as tablets, and the acquired data can be shared outside the mine through wireless communications technology. 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Materials and Methods 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Study Area 2.1.